I went to Taste of Italy (1101 S. College Road, at Maple Avenue) for pasta, canned tomatoes and sweet Italian sausage, but I walked out with a new appreciation for hot dogs.

Yep. Hot dogs at an Italian deli. Who knew? And these dogs are some you’ll want to consider as you cast votes for your favorite Cape Fear hot dogs during this final week of the Port City Foodies Hot Dog Contest.

As I waited for the Taste of Italy clerk to pack my order, I noticed a sign hanging over the hot buffet: “Italian Hot Dogs.”

My Italian mother has never considered hot dogs food (“Do you know what’s in those things?” she liked to say) so I was curious. I asked about the dish, and the clerk pointed to a pan filled with sautéed peppers, onions, diced potatoes and hot dog pieces.

The makings of the Italian Hot Dog.

When I visited the kitchen a few days later to get the scoop, I learned that Italian-American Taste of Italy owners Chris and Tommy Guarino had different childhood experiences with hot dogs.

Many Saturdays, their mother made the same hot dog dish served at Taste of Italy. She loaded the mixture into a long, spilt Italian loaf and served it to visiting family and friends.

Still, the Guarinos had not considered the dish at Taste of Italy until their business partner Craig Berner suggested it as a special.

Berner is from New Jersey, where Italian Hot Dogs seem to have been born. They are as famous there as cheesesteaks are in Philadelphia.

Berner, who hails from Flemington, N.J., remembers not only the Italian Hot Dogs served at nearly every pizzeria and his family’s delis in New Jersey but also those that were sold from vendor trucks at Rutgers football games.

“There’d be hundreds of people in line,” he said.

Berner knows the Italian Hot Dog is a mouthful.

What’s so special about Italian Hot Dogs? “The potatoes and peppers set off the flavors of the hot dogs,” Berner said, adding that bread is just as important to the combination. He suggested an Italian loaf, crusty outside, chewy within.

To make the dogs, Chris Guarino sautés a little garlic on the griddle then adds parboiled, diced potatoes. Once the potatoes have browned a bit, onion and bell pepper chunks go into the mix. He sautés the blend a little longer before giving it a dose of fresh hot pepper and adding Sabrett hot dogs cut into 1-inch pieces.

When everything is brown and the vegetables are tender, Chris loads the mix into a fat, buttered Italian roll (he likes to add a little mustard, too, for spice, although purist Berner thinks that and the hot pepper seasoning are sacrilege).

Taste of Italy's Hot Dog Wedge.

The Italian Hot Dog is delicious, a true comfort food thanks to the potatoes, but it was Taste of Italy’s Hot Dog Wedge that won this New Jersey girl’s heart in the end.

For that one, Chris splits two of the Sabrett dogs and sautés them and a spilt, buttered Italian roll on the griddle until both are yummy brown. While they’re cooking, he warms a little Sabrett Onions in Sauce. Everything goes into the roll along with sauerkraut and mustard.

“That’s a hot dog a New Yorker would appreciate,” Chris said, referring to the link’s thickish, crispy skin, which played so nicely against the chewy bread and soft, tart toppings.

Yes, Mom, I kind of know what goes into “those things,” but after these two dog creations, I kind of don’t care.

Liz I must agree with AB here. I did a 7 year stint in Jersey (i was paroled) and never ran into this. Ask Paul he did the same 7 maybe he did. By the way I really enjoy this site the only prob is I ain’t in NC to check out the cool stuff you guys have going there.

I’ve since talked to Jerseyites who agree, partially agree and disagree on the Italian Hot Dog’s popularity in N.J. Perhaps nearly as famous in parts of north and central N.J. and the Jersey Shore. Any which way, a great dog.

Fry up some long hot peppers with some sweet yellow and red bell peppers and some Italian homefried potatoes , a little garlic and sweet onions then toss in the Hot dogs and suate to desired tenderness. Stuff a freshly baked Italian roll with those and add a little Ketchup and Mustard and you got another winner. For a more traditional Italian flavor you can substitute a nice spoonfull of Marinara over the top instead of the Ketchup
and Mustard

What’s described and pictured in this article is not an authentic North Jersey or Newark style Italian Hot Dog. It’s just another take on the original style; similar to what you find in pizzerias and delis that are outside the few counties in New Jersey where this sandwich is popular. And it is more popular in these counties than the cheesesteak. Even though one of the owners is from Jersey, he is not familiar with an authentic Italian Hot Dog. You use pizza bread, which is Italian bread that has been baked in a pizza oven and resembles a pita. The bread is cut and a pocket is formed. Whole (not cut up) hot dogs are placed inside and topped with peppers, onions, and potatoes. Everything is deep fried, not griddled. Best brand from Newark, not Sabretts are used.

A Taste of Italy’s Italian Style Hot Dogs are my favoreit hot dogs in town hands down. When they don’t have the Italian Style, the hot dog wedge is damn good too. It doesn’t matter where you grew up or how your Mama made it, their food tastes good and thats why they get my vote!

Come to Essex or Union County in New Jersey and have an authentic Italian Hot Dog like the one in the video referenced above. If you like what is served at A Taste of Italy, you’ll love the real thing. People who grew up on the real thing and moved have them shipped to them in dry ice.

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Welcome to the StarNews food blog – where we focus on the fine, not-so-fine and just plain funky eats in the Cape Fear region. We cover all sorts of edible tidbits: restaurant buzz, interesting ingredients (and how to use them), recipes, great deals and more.